Trump Wins: 5 Key Crypto Moments from Election Night

Key takeaways:

• Bitcoin rally shows Trump win wasn’t priced in.
• Industry groups successfully oust anti-crypto candidates.
• Prediction markets take victory lap after proving polls wrong.
• Bloodbath for meme coins across the political spectrum.

Countless polls had predicted that the US presidential race was on a knife edge, with a razor-thin margin separating Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

But as the results began to pour in, it quickly became clear that Trump was on course to retake the Oval Office, with Republicans also seizing control of the Senate.

This resounding win is sending shockwaves through the markets — and fueling speculation that Bitcoin’s bull run may be about to enter a parabolic phase.

Here are five key crypto moments from election night.

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1. Bitcoin Hits a New All-Time High

Here’s one thing we learned in the early hours of Wednesday morning: BTC hadn’t priced in the impact of a Trump victory.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency hit a fresh all-time high of $75,361.09 as traders digested the news — eclipsing the previous record of $73,750, set back in March.

And there was a sea of green among altcoins too, with the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies racing toward $2.5 trillion for the first time ever.

Throughout his campaign, Trump had promised that he would be America’s first pro-crypto president — and unveiled a slew of policies designed to court Bitcoiners.

As well as vowing to sack SEC chair Gary Gensler on “day one,” the Republican had also called for the Treasury to treat crypto seized from criminals as a strategic reserve.

Trump also declared that he wants all remaining Bitcoin to be mined in the US, and hinted he wants greater control over interest rates, setting the stage for a battle with the traditionally independent Federal Reserve.

The “red wave” seen on election night will likely make it easier for the president-elect to achieve some of these ambitions, but fears linger that his economic plan could hit BTC in the long run.

2. Polymarket Takes Victory Lap

While opinion polls canvassing the opinions of American voters indicated that this race was a coin toss, crypto-powered prediction markets told a different story.

At 9am ET on Tuesday morning, as polling places began to open, Polymarket showed a 61.7% chance that Trump would secure a second term.

Those odds improved dramatically as results started to trickle in — and as midnight approached, he was given a 95% chance of hitting that magical number of 270 Electoral College votes.

A staggering $3.6 billion was wagered on the presidential election, and countless millions more on the outcomes in battleground states.

But those who backed Trump may face a little wait before they get a payout, as the market will only be resolved when the AP news agency, Fox and NBC all call the result.

Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan is clearly vindicated by how his platform performed — as it’s a sign that bettors putting their money where their mouths are offer a more accurate picture of future events than statisticians with clipboards.

But challenges for his website loom, as trading volumes could begin to dry up now the race for the White House is done and dusted.

3. Anti-Crypto Politicians Ousted

Beyond Trump’s pro-Bitcoin musings, 2024 will go down in history as the crypto election.

The industry poured hundreds of millions of dollars into key races — with a laser-like focus on one Senate race in Ohio.

That was the seat held by Democrat Sherrod Brown, who has been one of the staunchest voices against digital assets on Capitol Hill.

He’s railed against stablecoins, claimed cryptocurrencies are being widely used to finance terrorism and sidestep sanctions, and called for tight regulations.

Brown was also hugely critical when a slew of crypto firms took out star-studded adverts during the Super Bowl in 2022.

He took a defiant tone after learning deep-pocketed donors were allocating huge resources to getting him ousted from power, telling reporters: “Bring ’em on.”

But with crypto-powered PACs spending $40 million on ads promoting his little-known rival, blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, Brown was financially outgunned.

Moreno ended up winning the race with 50.2% of the vote.

Some prominent crypto skeptics do remain, with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren securing a third term.

4. A Shifting Picture Nationwide

Data from Stand With Crypto, a campaign group backed by Coinbase, shows 247 pro-crypto candidates have now been elected to the House of Representatives, and 16 to the Senate.

That picture will continue to evolve as more results trickle through.

This huge shift in Congress could make it much easier for crypto-literate legislation to be enacted in the years to come.

Firms across the industry have long been exasperated at regulatory uncertainty that has stifled innovation — arguing this drives businesses offshore, depriving the US of tax revenue and resulting in fewer protections for consumers.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had a simple message for his followers on X: “We did it.”

5. Political Meme Coins Suffer

Despite Trump’s resounding win, it’s been a pretty bruising 24 hours across the board for political meme coins — a sign that this crypto trend is now in its dying embers.

CoinMarketCap data shows $TRUMP has shed 23.2% of its value in the past 24 hours, with $MAGA down 38.5% and Super Trump Coin plunging 45.4%.

But the biggest wipeout has been reserved for Democrat-focused tokens including Kumula Herris (down 99.4%) and Kamala Horris (down 92.4%.)

The move away from typo-riddled altcoins is a sign that traders are now returning to more established cryptocurrencies in the hope of riding this latest bullish surge.

In a sign that Elon Musk still holds an incredible sway over the meme coin markets, only a token named “Department of Gov Efficiency” has come out on top — surging by 118.7%.

That’s a nod to Trump’s suggestion that the billionaire could lead a specially created commission that would perform “a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.”

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